Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Divorce vs. Separation

I will try to keep this brief. I rushed into a marriage with someone from another country. It did not work out (we were just not compatible), but I stayed in the marriage to allow her to get her green card (though that was not the primary goal! I was trying to make the relationship work). She has been living separately from me for approx. 2 years. I did not file separation paperwork because we were waiting for her green card and didn't want to mess anything up. (Mainly her idea, as I read in immigration that if it didn't work out, she could still get her green card..) Anyways, here I am now and want to be DONE with it once and for all..there are no hard feelings between us and everything would be uncontested. I am debating whether to do a simple uncontested divorce claiming ''abandonment'' as she left my residence...or getting a separation and then divorce in a year. But, I DO WANT it over with already. What do you suggest? The do- it -yourself uncontested divorce looks easy enough as there are no kids, money, or anything involved. We just want to get on with our lives. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time....


Asked on 9/04/07, 6:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joel Salinger Law Office of Joel R. Salinger

Re: Divorce vs. Separation

To answer your first question, I would not try to do a separation. It can leave things open in your case and can become messy down the road.

The answer to your second question is that you can do a pro-se divorce. I would do it on grounds of constructive abandonment rather than straight abandonment which can be a cleaner way of going. I would not do a divorce pro-se though. Divorce is a very paper intensive practice and one missed clause or statement, one wrong paper or failure to submit a particular form can bounce a divorce and set you back months. You are better served to go to a qualified attorney and have an uncontested divorce done.

The old saying that a person who represents themselves has a fool for an attorney and a fool for a client is true. I would not represent myself in a similar situation.

If I can be of any further assistance, you can contact me at my e-mail at [email protected] or at 516.746.4747.

Joel R. Salinger, Esq.

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Answered on 9/04/07, 11:10 pm


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